SA paceman returns to familiar surrounds in new colours this week to face the team he won two Shield titles with
Old bull Doggett finds perspective and growth in SA journey
Brendan Doggett very clearly remembers what he was told when he left Queensland.
His final ball for his native state clinched their most recent Sheffield Shield title, but as the euphoria of dismissing Josh Hazlewood faded in the off-season of 2021, the right-armer realised he was beginning to fall out of love with the game.
A self-described Queenslander through and through, Doggett also took a five-wicket haul in the final of their 2017-18 triumph over Tasmania in his first season, having progressed quickly from club cricket in Toowoomba to a regular in the state's Shield XI.
A qualified carpenter who was born in Rockhampton and raised in the Darling Downs region west of Brisbane, Doggett also earned a call-up to the Test squad later that year for a series against Pakistan in the UAE.
But between the Shield successes was a string of back, quad and side injuries, which left the then 26-year-old chasing a fresh perspective, and he opted to join great mate and current SA captain Nathan McSweeney in making the move 2000km south to Adelaide.
"Both Nathan and I were told that there's not much success in South Australia and our cricket might not go any further than where it was at Queensland," Doggett, now 30, recalls.
While he acknowledges the job is not yet done, it's with a sense of satisfaction that Doggett, as the summer in which he also returned to the Test squad draws to a close, reflects on how far he and his new teammates (many also from other states) have come in his four years at South Australia.
"There's one game to go but I think we should be proud of what we've achieved so far," Doggett tells cricket.com.au ahead of Wednesday's Shield final, which coincidentally pits him against many of his former teammates.
"They're all still great mates to me and I caught up with them for dinner last week when they were in Adelaide (during Queensland's round 10 draw with SA).
"But I definitely do not want them to win.
"It's going to make it even sweeter if we do win and I can get into them again.
"It's all healthy competition but I'm sure if they get up, they'll tell us they were right (about SA's lack of success).
"But if we do get the result our way, it's a good answer to all their questions they had for us when we when we did leave."
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There was a time when Doggett might have wondered if his Queensland mates were in fact right.
South Australia didn't win any of his first four Shield outings for his adopted state, which extended their winless run to 17 games by the time the final round of his first season in Adelaide rolled around.
It's somewhat fitting that both Doggett (three wickets) and McSweeney (4-89 and 99 not out) – who lived together for two years after relocating to the South Australian capital – played key roles in breaking that streak and sparking the state's resurgence, which three years later has SA eyeing a long-awaited 14th Shield title.
McSweeney would later attribute his then career-best effort with both bat and ball in that breakthrough victory over NSW to close the 2021-22 season as giving him the belief he was good enough for the first-class level and putting him on a path to receive his Baggy Green cap last November.
It wasn't just Doggett and McSweeney, but others who would also become pillars of South Australia's revival that similarly stood up that game.
Fellow interstate recruits Nathan McAndrew (three wickets) and Jordan Buckingham (four on debut), opener Henry Hunt scored a century in the first innings where emerging allrounder Liam Scott was the third top-scorer, while SA stalwart Jake Lehmann hit 94 off 89 balls in a match-winning partnership with McSweeney.
"I remember that day we sang the team song, and we had blokes there that had been in South Australia for four or five years who had never sung it," Doggett says.
"We had the words written up on the whiteboard, which is not great, but it's all part of the story.
"You look back at that now and it's something to be proud of, when you can reflect on it and think to where we are now with everyone enjoying the game so much more, and it's very much a team environment."
South Australia have steadily improved since, winning two games the following Shield season, three in the next, and topping the standings by more than 15 points with six wins this summer.
"That game was the big turning point where every time you win, you gain a bit more belief," Doggett says.
"I've always been a big believer from my time at Queensland that winning is a habit and you learn to win, so it's all probably stemmed from that result where Nathan stood up and played a really good innings to chase down a total and allowed people to know what winning was like."
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Winning is indeed a habit for their opponents in this week's final – no state has won more Sheffield Shield titles than Queensland's eight since South Australia last tasted success in 1995-96.
Doggett is the only player in SA's squad for the decider to have lifted the Shield, not that he thinks that experience will count for much against his former teammates, seven of whom he played alongside in the Bulls' last triumph.
Although he's played against Queensland on five occasions since he left, including his debut for South Australia, Doggett concedes it'll still be a strange experience trying to deny his mates another title this week.
"My last game for Queensland was the Shield final and my last ball was to take the final wicket to win the Shield, so it's going to be an interesting feeling coming out there against my old teammates in a similar environment to where I left it," he says.
"I have won two of them, but I would argue I'd probably have no more experience than anyone else (at South Australia).
"We just want to stick to our processes and focus on what we've done all season and try our best to treat this like it's just another game of cricket."
But it isn't "just another game" for many South Australians who have waited almost three decades to see their side lift the Shield again, with former SA fast bowler and now men's head coach, Ryan Harris, admitting they'd used the title drought as motivation through the preseason and opening half of the campaign.
"We've come from here, there and everywhere as a squad, but all bought into wanting to do this for South Australia and bring the success that they've waited for so long," Doggett says.
"'Ryno's' (Harris) just let us know that we're good enough to do it and we're the team to do it."
While the current squad haven't spoken collectively about the Shield drought since December prior to the Big Bash break, Doggett says bringing success back to South Australian cricket also played a part in his switch from Queensland.
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"I think this was always going to be the path for us, the last two years especially (since that win over NSW) where everyone has come together and bought into being South Australian," he says.
"We've embraced the fact that we're from all different walks of life and guys have come here from not getting opportunities at their home state, or people like myself who have come here because they wanted a change and wanted to be part of something that could be a really good story to bring success back to South Australia.
"The progression has been quite steady and probably hasn't been as fast-tracked as what everyone would like.
"It's just been really good to be part of the growth.
"We definitely should be proud of the journey … we've done a great job so far and I feel like we have brought back some success and some dominance for South Australia.
"If we can hold both the one-day and Shield trophies, that's going to be really special.
"Hopefully once we do get the job done, we'll be able to sit down and reflect on what has been the goal for the past four years and be really satisfied and proud of what we've achieved."
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While Brendan Doggett's journey hasn't been as linear as South Australia's rise due to the constant injury setbacks, a third Shield triumph come Sunday would be the icing on the cake of a "really satisfying" past 18 months.
After McAndrew (161 wickets), who joined SA at the same time, Doggett (99) has been the state's second-most prolific bowler across the two domestic competitions since their arrival ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Doggett has also represented Australia A again this summer, claiming a six-wicket haul against India A in October, which led to that surprise call-up to the Test squad a month later.
"My cricket journey has been a bit up and down – I had all that success of winning a Shield, going to India with Australia A and then straight into the Test squad in the UAE all within my first 18 months of first-class cricket," he says.
"The trajectory there looked like it was going to be really exciting, but unfortunately, I was injury-riddled throughout the next three to four seasons where I had multiple stress fractures in my back, tore quad muscles and tore my side.
"My cricket didn't progress the way that I thought it would, and I started to fall out of love with the game a little bit.
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"All that led to the move to South Australia, just to gain some perspective and treat the game for what it is and why I started playing.
"I had a family, we've got a two-year-old now, and that's probably been the big one that's allowed me just to enjoy cricket, have perspective and find out different ways that I can help bring success to my teammates and those around me."
SA's strong pace depth allowed Doggett the fortune of resting from last week's round 10 run-fest with Queensland with a home final already secured, and he's hoping the Rolton Oval surface for Wednesday's decider will sport a touch longer grass and thus be a "little more bowler friendly".
"At Karen Roton, the bat always dominates the ball, so it's going to be a challenge that we as a bowling unit are going to be ready to take on, and hopefully we can buck the trend," he says.
"We've been fortunate to have really great bowling depth; we all get along and it's healthy competition.
"So you know when you have the privilege of playing, you've got the support of those guys as well.
"Everyone deserves a spot in this Shield (final) XI but unfortunately some guys have to miss out, but they're no more or less important than those who get to play."
Sheffield Shield final 2024-25
March 26-30 (10.35am ACDT): South Australia v Queensland, Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide
The Sheffield Shield final will be broadcast live on Foxtel, Kayo Sports, cricket.com.au and the CA Live app
Sheffield Shield standings 2024-25
| Team | M | W | L | D | N/R | Ded. | Bat | Bowl | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SA
|
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7.61 | 9 | 55.61 |
|
2
QLD
|
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9.06 | 8.7 | 39.76 |
|
3
VIC
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.19 | 9.3 | 39.49 |
|
4
NSW
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.99 | 8.4 | 36.39 |
|
5
TAS
|
10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7.72 | 8.2 | 35.92 |
|
6
WA
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.83 | 8.6 | 35.43 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points